The Holly and the Ivy
by ThnksFrThMmrs87
Summary: A series of one shots, all based around Stella and Flack and holiday goodness.
1. Mistletoe Madness

Note From The Author-- So here begins a new story. This will be a lot like Moments, with Stella and Flack pairings, but will exclusively include holiday stories. I've just got too many ideas to stick them all in Moments or make them ridiculously short one shots. First up, a little ways in the future, Danny tries to nudge our favorite couple just a bit. Enjoy.

Disclaimer-- I don't own the characters of CSI:NY, nor do I own any products mentioned within these stories

"I do not believe this," Lindsay said incredulously, shaking her head.

"Believe it," Danny told her with a grin, casting his eyes up at his handy work.

She sighed. "You're a seasoned CSI. You're a scientist, you own a home, and your daughter is going on two years old."

"Point being?

"Mistletoe Danny?"

They both looked up at the sprig of green he had just hung from the ceiling in one of the lab hallways. "There's a method to my madness, Montana, honestly."

Lindsay simply folded her arms and regarded him suspiciously. "Do tell."

"Okay," he started, taking her arm and leading her towards their office. "So we all know that Stella and Don have been dancing around each other for a while now, right?"

"Right," she granted reluctantly.

He nodded, shutting the door behind them as they walked into the office. "Well when things didn't work out between Don and Jess, I figured he would finally go for it and ask Stella out, or vice versa; but we both know that hasn't happened."

She was starting to see where he was going with this, and she was having a hard time staying exasperated. "Go on."

"So, they're both in the lab at some point, they walk under the mistletoe and boom…"

"They finally take the first step and then they can't deny their feelings any longer after they kiss." She laughed out loud and pressed a quick kiss to Danny's mouth. "You may just be a genius!"

Danny grinned at her. "Just maybe?"

"Don't push it Messer."

As it turned out, Danny may not have been such a genius after all. In the four hours since the mistletoe had gone up virtually everyone but Stella and Flack had found themselves underneath it. They were both out on a case with Mac, and it was a good thing the boss man wasn't there. Everyone agreed that he would have been none too pleased to find half of the lab making out in the hall on a constant basis.

Adam had found himself caught with several lab techs and subsequently punished Hawkes and Jess for laughing at him by trapping them into an awkward mistletoe kiss. Sid had basically had to run from one of the more amorous DNA specialists, and even Danny and Lindsay had let it slip their mind and ended up underneath.

There was just a little over an hour in the shift when Mac and Stella made it back to the lab, and Flack wasn't far behind them. Only problem was that they closeted themselves in trace for a good twenty minutes. Danny knew that he only had a short window before Mac got wind of everything and stopped the madness, so he knew he would have to act fast.

Much to Messer's chagrin, Don came looking for him after he left trace. "We still on for a game tonight? Indoor courts?"

Danny nodded, and then he started grasping at straws. Picking up something at random, he essentially dragged his best friend out of the office and down the hall. "Walk with me. How's your case?

Flack shot his friend a bemused look, but answered the question nonetheless. "It's the usual, I guess. At the moment we don't have a lot to go on, but with any luck Mac and Stell can work their magic while I do some leg work." They stopped moving and he looked around. "Dan, is there any reason you're holding an LL Bean catalog and we're stopped in the middle of the hall?"

Danny was having a hard time coming up with something, considering that his only excuse was that he knew Stella would probably be heading down what Sid had dubbed the Hall of Holiday Hijinks, and she and Flack could potentially intersect right where he wanted them to. Thankfully, he didn't have to come up with anything as Stella was headed towards them.

With a rather unapologetic smile, he looked over at Flack. "Happy Holidays, man." Then he firmly planted his hand against his friend's back and shoved him right into the woman headed towards him.

Arms and legs tangled, and the only thing that saved them from ending up on the floor was Don catching hold of her hips and overcorrecting so that she crashed into his chest. When they finally went still they were both silent; and they stayed silent as he grinned down at her and then brought his mouth to hers.

Lindsay sidled up next to Danny, joining him with a lightened heart as she watched two of their best friends finally figure it out. "Real smooth Messer."

"Mistletoe worked didn't it?" he asked.

"I'm afraid you can't take full credit on this one." She couldn't help but grin a bit, and she pointed upward.

When Danny's eyes followed hers she was expecting the groan. "Well, hell."

Flack and Stella were kissing alright, and they were kissing a full two feet to the left of his carefully planted sprig of mistletoe.


	2. My Only Lifelong Wish

Note From The Author—So I'm not wildly thrilled with this one, but it's been in my head for a while and I needed it gone, so here it is.

Disclaimer—I don't own the characters or this wonderful song, which I believe was originally performed by Amy Grant.

It was getting late when Don slipped into the apartment, and when he did he was greeted by all things Christmas. There was a scent of cinnamon wafting through the air, and the soft strains filled the room with Grown up Christmas List. But despite all of the holiday festivity, there was something off.

"In here," Stella called out softly.

He followed her voice back into their bedroom, and he was surprised to find her curled up on the window seat, wrapped in a blanket. There was something about her posture that just wasn't right. "Stell, you okay?"

For a moment she didn't say anything, and the silence seemed to weigh like a heavy burden. "That case I got called out on today?"

"Yeah?" He pulled off his jacket and went to sit on the edge of the seat next to her.

"A twenty-three year old woman died last night," she told him, and when their eyes met he could see that hers were haunted. "This vibrant young woman who was studying to be a school teacher because she wanted to change the world was just wiped off the face of the planet."

Flack shook his head. "What we have to do; so much of the time it's the very last thing we ever want to be doing."

She nodded. "I know, but today, on Christmas Eve, I had to tell her boyfriend that she was never coming home. He was going to propose tonight." It was then that she seemed to break, and tears quickly filled her eyes. "He had this beautiful ring tied to a branch of their Christmas tree, and Sheldon and I couldn't do a damn thing but watch him hold onto that ring and cry."

"Stell…come here." He slid in behind her, wrapping her in his arms and the blanket. "I can't imagine."

Having him there only made it hit her more; she got to go home and be comforted by the person she loved, and that man never would again. Suddenly she was shaking, and she tucked herself in against him as if she could make the world go away. "I came home, and I was so desperate for some kind of comfort, so I tried to make it as Christmasy as I could. Then this song came on, and it all flooded back in."

He knew the song pretty well, the one in which the singer hoped and prayed that no more lives would be torn apart and that everyone would have a friend. "It's a good song."

"I've had it on repeat, because all I can seem to do is wonder if it's ever going to happen. Will we ever get to a point where people aren't gunned down in the street and people can honestly say that they'll always heal? How can I believe that when I had to tell someone on the night before Christmas that their life would never be the same, because someone decided to play God?"

"I don't know, Stell. What I do know, is that you can't quit." He gently guided her head up so that he could look in her eyes. "You had to do a horrible thing today, and you'll have to do it again; but if you give up, if you decide that there's no way to change the world, that there isn't any hope, then you let them win."

Stella nodded. "I know. But I still wonder how it is that we can believe in making a difference when things like this happen." She tucked her head back into the crook of his neck, her lips brushing his skin when she spoke again. "It's hard to have faith when these things happen during what's supposed to be the 'most wonderful time of the year'."

"Trust me Stell; I wonder how the hell it is that I believe, maybe more than most. All I really can tell you is that there are things that make you believe; things like sitting here with you in my arms, and knowing I'm going to wake up with you in the morning."

"It helps," she told him, pressing a soft kiss to his skin. "It really does."

They stayed there for a long time, but when Stella finally drifted off Don couldn't bring himself to move her. He wished there was more he could do to put her mind at ease, but knew that she would have to get there on her own. But what he could do was be there and do his best to make sure that at least part of that song came true, because he would do whatever it took to make sure that love never ended for them.


	3. Baby It's Cold Outside

Note From The Author—So when I originally started out to write this I was going to go with the usual scenario that this particular song title would imply, but then my brain took a detour; which if you ask anyone who knows me really isn't surprising at all : ) Another short and sweet story since I'm all in the holiday spirit and enjoying frolicking in the fluff. Enjoy

Disclaimer—As you may have guessed, I don't own song from which the title of this story came.

When Don woke he opened his eyes, and he panicked. Seeing nothing but blackness definitely wasn't normal. Then he realized that it was difficult to see with your face pressed against a couch. Rolling over, he scrubbed his hands over his face and sat up. It was evidently the dead of night because he couldn't actually see much better, and he struggled to remember why the hell he was on someone else's couch.

The cobwebs began to clear a bit and he remembered the night before. The team had gone out for drinks after a particularly trying case and afterwards none of them had been in any real shape to drive home. Thankfully they had been at a bar close to the lab and all of the cars had been left there. Flack wasn't sure why on earth he had thought that he would be a good choice to make sure Stella got home, particularly since he was actually a bit farther gone than her. Either way, they shared a cab, they talked, and he fell asleep on her couch.

That last part he felt just a bit foolish for seeing as he couldn't actually remember where in the conversation he had dropped off. Not to mention that he'd been trying to find a way to ask Stella out for ages, and falling asleep half drunk on her couch didn't seem like a brilliant lead in. A quick glance at his watch told him it was well past two in the morning and with a sigh he scanned the room for his suit jacket and coat. When he found them on the back of a chair at her kitchen table he rose and headed across the room.

"Hey."

He turned to see Stella leaning in the doorway to her bedroom. Her pajamas were rumpled, her hair was a mess, and her eyes were sleepy; and she was still completely gorgeous. "Go back to sleep Stell."

She smiled. "It's the middle of the night."

"I know, and that's why I should get out of here and let you get back to sleep."

"Don, it's late, you'll never get a cab, and it's freezing. Just stay."

Flack shrugged. "Not a big deal, honestly."

"Don Flack, are you really going to argue with me and potentially walk home in the ten degree weather?"

"This conversation seems rather lyrically familiar," he said with a smile.

Stella pushed away from the door frame and crossed to him, standing in front of him with folded arms. "Maybe so, but you're avoiding the point. Anyone ever tell you that you talk in your sleep Detective?"

He had been in the process of pulling on his suit jacket, but he stilled mid-way through the movement. "What did I say exactly?" he asked, praying it wasn't anything over the line.

"A couple of interesting things," she told him with a knowing smile. "One of them being my name."

"Shit. Look, Stell…"

She shook her head. "Not quite like that."

Then she was pulling him down to meet her, and her lips were soft against his. It was the embodiment of short and sweet, but both swore they could feel the world spinning when they pulled apart. "Stell," he sighed.

"That's more like it."

The smile was pretty much automatic. "So what now?"

"Tonight, you stay here, you take the couch; in the morning, we talk, and we see."

Don pulled her in for another sweet kiss, then let her go, gave in, and lost the suit jacket. "Night Stell."

"Goodnight Don."

She lingered until he was settled on the couch again, and he laughed when he heard the tune that she sang under her breath almost unconsciously as she headed back to bed.

"Ah but it's cold outside."


	4. Winter Wonderland

"I love this."

Stella looked up feeling just a bit confused. It was the first thing Don had said in more than five minutes; and considering the fact that they had been trekking through the snow for nearly twenty minutes she didn't see a whole hell of a lot to be happy about.

"Don, we got nowhere with a suspect, the car broke down, we can't get a cab, and we've been walking for close to half an hour in three inches of snow. What on earth is it that you love so much?"

He wasn't deterred by her tone or frustration, so rather than just letting it go of it he took hold of her hand. "Come on, I'll show you."

She figured there was no use in protesting since he was so obviously intent on whatever was on his mind. However, she thought it was only fair that she knew where they were going. "Don, where exactly are we going?"

"We're two blocks from Bryant Park, and it's perfect."

"Perfect for…?"

Flack just shook his head with a smile. "You'll see."

Despite the rather intense frustration she'd been feeling minutes before, it was difficult to stay ticked off with his infectious enthusiasm. The snow that had fallen the night before hindered them a bit, but they made it to Bryant in a few minutes. As they walked into the heart of the park, Stella watched Don's eyes light up. It was then that she realized how truly thrilled he was.

He pulled them to a stop, and as they stood in the light of an icy winter day, he sighed contentedly and gestured around them. "That; I love that."

For a moment she couldn't figure out what he was talking about, but then she followed his eyes and suddenly it all made sense. There was just a bit of a breeze that day; as it blew it shifted the snow that had settled on the branches of trees and bushes, carrying it through the air in a gorgeous mist that caught the light and sparkled light fairy dust. It was completely breathtaking, and she couldn't believe she had never noticed it before; and the Don had.

"Detective Flack you've got a touch of whimsy in you," she said with a smile as their eyes met.

"Yeah, I guess I can do something other than be a smart ass after all," he commented.

It made her laugh for the first time that day, and it felt surprisingly fantastic to be standing there with him, snow sifting over them as they laughed together. The feeling didn't go away when the laughter stopped, and the feeling was so refreshing.

"Stell."

They both felt it, almost like a change in the air. When she turned towards him his arms were there around her. In that split second it didn't matter that they'd lived through the morning from hell or that it was twenty degrees outside, all that mattered was that moment; that one moment when their lips met for the first time and the rest of the world disappeared.

From the outside it was a downright magical scene, and the same could be said from the inside. Though both of them had contemplated the connection between them from time to time, neither had realized just how right it would feel when they finally did something about it. It was as if everything in them sighed, and when they pulled apart nothing needed to be said.

It felt as natural as breathing when Flack laced their fingers together, and as they started out again Stella felt an irrepressible smile blossom. It was easier then, to see the city as wondrous and beautiful; and thanks to the vision of the blue eyed Detective at her side she was sure she'd be living in a winter wonderland for a long while.

Note From The Author—This one is really short, but it was just screaming out to be written. If you live in a snowy state like I do, hopefully you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about; and if you don't I wish you could experience it firsthand because it's just fabulous.


	5. Snowed In

Note From The Author—So this one is set like a year from now. I picked the sex and name of baby Messer/Monroe randomly for this one, and Flack's sister is in rehab after falling off of the wagon. Also, Danny and Lindsay have an apartment that they got together before the baby. Just thought I'd set it up for you. Enjoy.

Disclaimer—I don't own the characters and films mentioned in this story unfortunately.

"Shit, damn, hell!" Don Flack's aggravated voice rang out from Danny's front door and had the entire team turning to stare at him.

"What's wrong?" Hawkes asked. "And weren't you leaving?"

The frustrated detective pointed towards the window before returning to the process of brushing off snow. "See for yourself."

Danny rose and walked to the window, and after looking out and around he blew out a frustrated breath. "Well, shit, damn, hell is right." He turned back to the others. "We're snowed in."

"Snowed in?." Stella asked, bolting up from her seat to look for herself. "Damn it. Unless everyone wants to walk home it looks like we really are stuck, at least for the night."

Suddenly they were all regretting the decision to have a get together on Christmas Eve. Life with the NYPD wasn't exactly easy, though, and they really hadn't had any other choice for getting them all together for the holidays. The plan had been to get them all out early in the evening so everyone could go on to their other plans. Clearly that wasn't going to happen; it was five, they were already completely stuck, and it didn't look like the snow was going to stop anytime soon.

With a sigh, Mac took charge. "Looks like we're going to be intruding on Danny and Lindsay's Christmas," he said regretfully.

"Don't worry about it," Lindsay said, shifting her son to her other hip. "We're all family, it's totally fine; and with any luck everyone can get out of here tomorrow."

He nodded. "Everyone make any calls you need to, let your loved ones know what's going on."

"And then?" Stella questioned.

Lindsay had already picked up on where Mac was going, and she looked at her friend with a smile. "Then we find a way to make this a fabulous Christmas, even though it wasn't what we expected."

As it turned out, there really weren't all that many calls to make. Lindsay's family hadn't made it out from Bozeman so really Danny just had to let his mother know that they wouldn't make it over that night. There was disappointment that the family wouldn't all be together for Joshua's first Christmas Eve, but safety definitely came first. Adam hadn't had any other plans and Hawkes wasn't planning on seeing his family until Christmas Day. Everybody kept their mouths shut about Flack's plans since they knew his sister wasn't yet allowed visitors at the rehab center, and Stella and Mac never said a whole lot about Christmas. So not ten minutes later, everyone gathered around Danny and Lindsay's kitchen table.

"What now?" Adam questioned.

Danny grinned, and from behind his back produced a stack of DVDs with a flourish. "Now, lame Christmas movies, popcorn, hot drinks, and any other treats we can scare up."

Though a lot of the others were confused as to why, Don still seemed pretty pissed off about their current situation. Still, when he took the pile of movies from Danny he couldn't help but smile. "Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch?"

"Well he did say lame," Hawkes said with a smile.

"Some of those are classics," Mac told the two men. "And I think it's a great idea."

Evidently everyone agreed, because they all ended up strewn about the living room on the couch, chairs, bean bags and the floor. Frosty came first, and it wasn't fifteen minutes into the movie that everyone was happy and loose again. Commentary started up and had them all giving into fits of laughter every five minutes, and they frequently had to pause the movies to replenish the snack supply.

"I'm just saying, no way could that snow have stayed packed long enough for Frosty to do all that," Danny commented. He was putting in the next movie and he jerked as the pillow Stella tossed at him pegged him in the butt.

"That's enough commentary from the peanut gallery," she said with a grin.

Mac shook his head. "Honestly Danny we're watching a movie about a magical snowman and you're getting into scientific semantics?"

"I'm just saying…" He trailed off when Flack handed Stella another pillow. "Okay, okay, I'm done," Danny said with a laugh, holding up his hands.

They made it through The Grinch, the original as Don and Lindsay would have it no other way, before they all trooped back into the kitchen and dining room for dinner. Soup wasn't very fancy fare for Christmas Eve, but nobody really cared. They were all having a blast together, and it was really all that mattered.

After dinner there was a vote and Polar Express was their next movie. When that one was finished it was pretty late, but a vote took place and White Christmas went into the DVD player. Everyone was full, warm and content, and it wasn't long before team members started to drop off. Adam fell asleep in a reclined chair before the opening credits finished and Mac wasn't far behind him with his head pillowed against a bean bag chair. Sheldon managed to make it twenty minutes before he dropped off, and after settling Joshua for the night Danny drifted off practically sitting upright. Stella loved the movie and made a valiant attempt to make it all the way through, but she too was out like a light against Don's shoulder before she could hear the song that gave the movie its name.

In the end, only Lindsay and a rather restless Flack saw the film's finale. With a sigh, she reached up and turned off the TV, surveying her friends with a smile. "Well, seems like everyone's bunked down for the night." Danny was looking precariously close to falling to one side, so she nudged him a bit. "Come on, bed."

Blurred eyes met his and he smiled sleepily. "Whatever you say, Montana." He rose and stretched. "Night Flack."

"Night." He watched them head into the bedroom with a sigh. Despite the fact that everyone else seemed to be getting some decent rest, he just didn't seem to be tired. Carefully, he laid Stella down on the couch and covered her with a blanket; then he headed into the kitchen.

It was over an hour later when Stella woke feeling just a bit disoriented. The confusion dissipated quickly, but she was surprised not to find Don sleeping somewhere nearby like most of the rest of the team. Then she caught the gentle glow of the kitchen light.

Worried, she made her way carefully through a maze of people, popcorn bowls and mugs and into the kitchen. Don was sitting alone at the counter, a mug of what appeared to be hot cider sitting in front of him. What struck her first was just how handsome he was; it always seemed to. What hit her next was the completely lost look on his face.

"You just decide to stay up? See if you could make it to the first light of Christmas?" she asked quietly.

He shot her a subdued smile as she leaned against the counter across from him. "Seemed like a good idea."

"Can't sleep?"

"Evidently not tonight; it hasn't become a pattern or anything. I guess I just can't shut my brain off," he told her.

Stella grabbed mug and helped herself to some of the left over cider from the batch he'd made, then she skirted around the counter to sit next to him. "Not the way we all expected to spend Christmas Eve, but it turned out to be a lot of fun." She took a sip of the cider and was happily surprised to taste the little hit of cinnamon schnapps in it.

He nodded. "It did."

"So why do you still look so sad?" she questioned him gently

That he hadn't been expecting, and it was with no small amount of surprise that he found himself telling her everything. "You know my sister's in rehab."

"Yeah, I do."

"Well, my parent's, they haven't been taking it well. My Dad's a hard ass; he doesn't care if Sam's getting sober. All he can see is that some sort of weakness put her there in the first place."

She shook her head. "Alcohol's an addiction, same as cocaine or heroin. Sam couldn't help this."

Don sighed. "Yeah, well, we can both be calm and rational about it. My father can't. He won't talk about her, won't hear anything I've heard from the doctors about her progress. Soon as Sam went into the facility he pretty much declared that he didn't give a damn about the rest of us, but there wouldn't be Christmas in his house this year."

"That's awful," she breathed.

"That's the old man." He shifted so that they were facing, so that they could see each other clearly. "It's how he is Stell. I wish to God it weren't, but it's all he's got.

Pity came into her eyes, and he was prepared to back away from it until she spoke again. "How sad for him," Stella said quietly. "To not be able to appreciate the effort his daughter is making or the support you're trying to give her."

It just about knocked him on his ass when he saw the pride in her eyes; that she was proud of him for sticking by his little sister. "Stell."

She smiled when she registered the shock on his face. "Does it really surprise you that much? That I would be proud of you for everything you're doing, and everything that you've been through?"

"I guess so," Don answered, still somewhat amazed. "It never crossed my mind, not being there for her. I've wanted to just walk away from her so many times, but she's my baby sister. I never could quite manage to stop caring."

"That's what makes me proud, Don. You're an unwavering support for the people you love and care for. You may have a disagreement with someone, you may not see eye to eye, but you'll be there for them no matter what. You're there for Sam that way, just like you were for me."

He found himself desperately trying not to blush. Compliments like this from Stella meant the world, and it completely bowled him over knowing this was how she felt. "I'm just me Stell," he told her with a shrug.

"That's what makes it so amazing," she told him with a grin. It was what made _him_ so amazing.

They both went silent, and for the first time realized just how close they really were. They were sitting there face to face, knees pressed together and hands close as they rested near mugs. Their eyes met, and there it was for both to see; that interest and wonder playing out as if on a movie screen.

Maybe it was the schnapps, maybe it was just because it was Christmas; or maybe it was because it had been a long time coming. Neither of them had a care for the reasons as they leaned together and their lips met for the first time.

They both expected urgency, and found exactly the opposite. This was a system devastating slow burn that sent their carefully constructed walls up in flame and turned them to ash. All barriers disappeared, and the kiss deepened to a level both were shocked to find existed.

They pulled apart, both feeling a bit bereft at the loss. But there were soft looks, meeting eyes, and the promise of more; but not here. "Merry Christmas Don."

She left him with a content smile and he could still taste honeyed lips, apples, and cinnamon; and as she made her way back to the couch, it made him smile to realize that she tasted of Christmas.


	6. All I Want For Christmas

Note From the Author— This is my not so subtle way of getting on my soap box at Christmas. If you can, give back this season, and enjoy the story.

"Stell, you going to tell me where we're going?"

"You'll be clued into it eventually," she told him with a smile. Rather than explain she just tugged on his hand. "Now come on, or we'll be late."

He frowned. "Late for what?"

Stella shook her head. "You're not that good. You'll see when we get there."

At eight on Christmas Eve morning he was having a hard time being cheery, but seeing the excitement on his girlfriend's (and it still made him grin like an idiot six months later to use that term) face was shaping up to be well worth the early morning wake up call. Still, he was curious where they were headed, and was slightly puzzled when they walked through the front door of a shelter.

It was only minutes later that he understood what was going on. Though it took a few minutes for Stella to talk him into a Santa suit and padding, when she explained things to him he was more than willing. Evidently every year at this particular shelter they had a party for the kids who would be spending their Christmas there. Donations were taken all year for toys, clothes and personal care items to make the holidays as normal as possible, and every Christmas Eve Santa and Mrs. Clause came for a visit.

The prospect of making a real Christmas for kids who wouldn't otherwise have one was motivation enough for Flack, and twenty minutes after their arrival he and Stella were dressed in their costumes and led into a room full of kids and parents. The state of the families was clear, but what was also clear was the joy in those children's eyes when Santa came in with a booming Ho Ho Ho and he and Mrs. Clause settled in to take requests.

The more children that sat on his lap, the more wonder Don found himself feeling. These kids weren't looking for bikes or ponies for Christmas; instead they wished for a new pair of shoes or a heavy winter coat. One little boy hoped that his father would be able to find a job and one little girl asked only that her little brother would recover from a bad bout of the flu.

Stella spent a good deal of time fighting back tears, and Don found himself on the verge more than once. They along with the shelter workers handed out as much as they could to each family, and when the last child was lifted onto his lap, Flack was blown away the moment she opened her mouth.

She was a beautiful little girl, somewhere in the neighborhood of five, with bouncing red curls and bright blue eyes; the spitting image of her mother who stood beside her. The shelter manager had whispered moments before that her name was Seraphina "Hello Santa," she said with a smile.

"Hello to you too, Seraphina" Don answered. "Why don't you tell me what you'd like for Christmas?"

Her intelligent eyes held his as she thought about the question, and when she spoke again the two detectives were positively amazed. "Well, it's just me and my mommy now, but you know that. It's hard for mommy to take care of everything with just me and her, because her boss fired her after Daddy died and she had to spend more time at home with me."

"That wasn't very nice of him at all."

"He's mean," she said conspiratorially. "Really mean. When mommy lost her job she couldn't find another one, because everyone says it's so tough right now. So we couldn't pay the rent and the apartment guy wouldn't let us stay. So we're here," she said with a sigh.

The little girl's mother had tears in her eyes, and Stella reached out to take her hand. She just couldn't leave her standing there. "I'm so sorry," she said quietly.

"So what would you like sweetheart?" Flack asked.

She thought for a moment. "Well, the guy from our old apartment said that if we could give him four-thousand dollars that he would let us stay for a whole year. Mommy says it's a lot less than normal but it's still a lot. So I guess I'd like four-thousand dollars."

He didn't quite know what to say. "Well, we'll see what we can do about that. For now, would you like to pick something from the bag?"

Her mother helped her off of Santa's lap and along with Stella they picked some things from the bag. As they were turning to head into the dining room for lunch, Seraphina turned back to Don. "Santa, I know that it's a lot of money, so I would understand if you can't do it." Flack watched her go with tears in his eyes, then laughed when he heard the precocious little thing pose a question to her mother. "Mommy, how come you never told me Santa was from Queens?"

He, Stella and the shelter manager shared a momentary laugh, but it wasn't long before they all sobered. Hearing of the woes and hardships of these families made them all want to give more and do more. As they got dressed, Stella and Don both had their minds on that last little girl.

They had heard so many sad stories that day, but they both knew there had to be something more they could do. There was no way to grant the wish of every child in that room, it just wasn't within their power. But maybe, just maybe, they could make Christmas magical for one family.

Cell phones came out the moment they hit the street, Stella calling on Mac and Don putting a call in to Danny. "Hey Messer, do me a favor and get out to the lab. Yeah I know its Christmas Eve, but you know I wouldn't call you if it weren't important. Grab Lindsay and the baby and get down there; just one favor and I'll explain everything when we get there."

"You get him?" Stella asked as they both hung up.

He nodded. "I got him and Lindsay."

"Good," she said, sliding into the car. "I'll take Hawkes."

"And I'll get Jess on speaker," he said as he slid behind the wheel.

An hour later the entire team was assembled in Mac's office. Though they were all a little confused as to why they were there at first, Stella and Don explained everything as quickly as they could. After hearing about their friends' afternoon everyone agreed to their plan, and within minutes they had spread out through the lab, morgue and station to get everything they needed.

They all worked tirelessly for a couple of hours, and by five the night of Christmas Eve they had accomplished their goal. That night at the shelter, as soon as Christmas dinner was over, the manager pulled Seraphina's mother aside, and as she sobbed, handed her the greatest gift she had ever received. It was all explained, and as she hailed a cab at eight that night with one of the shelter's volunteers, she knew that the simple envelope of money in her purse would change her world that year. And she knew that after she took her little girl home, Seraphina would believe in Santa for a very long time.

Flack was headed out of the lab on New Years Eve when he ran into Seraphina and her mother coming off of the elevator in the lab. He couldn't help but smile as he watched Adam grin and point the pair in his direction.

"You're Detective Flack?" Seraphina asked him as she and her mother stopped in front of him.

"That's me," he told her with a nod. "And I'll bet you're Seraphina."

Stella came up next to him, leaning into the hand he rested on the small of her back. "What's going on out here?" she questioned.

"Well Stell, I think that Seraphina here was just about to tell me."

She didn't need to tell them anything. As soon as she heard both of their names she launched herself at Don, causing him to stagger a bit with surprise. But when he regained his balance he willingly returned her hug, and then passed her to Stella when she held her arms out.

"Thank you so much!" she cried as Stella set her back down. "You're Santa's friends who gave me my Christmas wish!"

They both merely nodded, and the little girl's mother reached out to shake both their hands with tears in her eyes. "You gave us the best Christmas ever, along with Santa," she said with a smile. "We both wanted to thank you."

"I made you this," Seraphina said, holding out a brightly colored card. "I sent one to the North Pole for Santa too, but you helped, so I wanted to give you one too."

"Well thank you," Stella told her, accepting the card with tears of her own threatening to fall. "This is very beautiful."

"Thank you," she said politely. Her attention turned back to Flack and she studied him so intently that for a moment he was afraid she had figured it all out. After all, she had proven to be a very smart kid. His fears were all alleviated when she turned her head to one side and told him very matter of fact, "I don't think you're just Santa's friend."

He smiled. "Really? Well who else would I be?"

Her eyes narrowed just a bit before she broke into a grin. "You have the same eyes, so I think you must be Santa's brother, or maybe he's son; he is awful old you know."

Flack managed to hold back laughter, though he heard Stella struggle not to lose it next to him. "You could be right, after all you just never know."

"No, you don't," she said very seriously. "But you couldn't tell me anyway if you were. That would ruin the magic."

Stella nodded. "Yes it would. I'm glad that you got your wish this year Seraphina."

"And so are we," her mother interjected. "And just as an added bonus I've been getting some calls, and it's looking like the rent won't be a problem for a long time."

"We're glad. All of us."

Seraphina gave them both one last hug and after another round of thank yous they headed back to the elevator. As they went, Stella turned into his arms to kiss him sweetly. "We did a good thing this year."

"We did," he agreed before again pressing his lips briefly to hers. "And I think we should make it a tradition."

"Me too."

She leaned back in for another kiss that turned into laughter as Seraphina's voice drifted back to them again. "Mommy he has to be related to Santa! His eyes are the same _and _he sounds like he's from Queens too!"


	7. Haunting Melody

Note From The Author—A very short and very silly New Years Eve one shot. Hope you enjoy, and have a happy New Year!

About the fifth time he heard Auld Lang Syne, Don Flack decided that New Years needed some new stinking traditions. By the time he made it home he'd heard the damn tune about ten more times, and he was ready to go to bed and pretend that the New Year was already there.

"Next person who sings, hums, or otherwise vocalizes anything that even remotely sounds like Auld Lang Syne is going to die," he announced as he shut the door to the apartment.

Stella and Lindsay were putting snacks together in the kitchen, and both looked at him with no small amount of curiosity. "Long day?" Lindsay asked.

"Incredibly." He skirted around the table long enough to give Stella a kiss, then plopped down on the couch next to Danny. "Everybody's singing that damn song."

Danny shook his head. "It's not even the New Year yet, what's up with that?"

Flack's eyes narrowed a bit dangerously before he spoke. "If I knew that, I already would have found a way to stop it. Nobody even knows what it means!"

"Well, either way, everyone else is going to be here in a few minutes," Stella told him. "Get out of that suit and into some more comfortable clothes, and I can guarantee that none of us will be singing that song when you get back."

Well, maybe not so much. By the time that Don was out of his suit and into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, the rest of the team was there, and Hawkes was quietly humming the song to himself as he stirred the soup he'd brought with him. Stella managed to catch Flack's hand and guide him away before he did anyone an injury, but it was a close call.

A few minutes later, it was painfully clear that the Auld Lang Syne issue wasn't about to get any better, as two New Years Eve specials on TV had already featured it and some drunken idiot outside the apartment was singing at the top of his lungs. Don did his very best to ignore it, but he couldn't help but wince every time he heard it, which was frequently seeing as it appeared to be haunting him.

There was a blessed lull just before the clock was about to strike twelve, and Flack managed to actually enjoy the festivities without cringing every five minutes. He was laughing with Mac when whichever teeny bopper TV host was reigning that year announced the beginning of the countdown, and he and the others joined in.

When the clock struck twelve he deftly spun Stella into his arms to 'ring in the New Year', but found the moment to be sullied by the fact that that ridiculous song rang out from the TV screen, all of Times Square joining in.

For a moment Don could only frown at the television; but then Stella tugged on his hand and looped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss her again. It was only then that Auld Lang Syne retreated to the recesses of his mind; and it occurred to him that if this was the only way to get the song out of his head, it could follow him around any day.


End file.
